A Brief History of Coffee

Coffee originated in the 9th century when goat herders noticed how caffeine affected their goats, which appeared to “dance” after eating the fruit of the Coffea plant, according to Amanda Hawkins and Caroline Picard in an article for Good Housekeeping in 2018 (1). 

When a local monk observed what happened to the goat, he made a drink with the produce and found that it kept him awake at night. Thus, the original cup of coffee was born — a mark that belongs to Coffee’s Hall of Fame.

The Trick To Keeping Your Coffee Warm

If you like savoring a warm cup of coffee at work or waking up in the morning to your favorite mug simmering with your brew of choice, it’ll help to know how to keep your coffee hot for longer. The trick? Add cream. 

According to Nathan Myhrvold, founder of Modernist Cuisine, coffee with cream cools about 20% slower than black coffee (2). 

Black coffee is darker, and dark colors absorb heat faster than light colors (like wearing a black T-shirt on a sweltering hot day). But that catch is this: As much as dark colors absorb heat faster, they also emit heat faster than light colors. By lightening the color of your coffee, you slightly slow down its rate of heat loss, keeping your lighter coffee warmer for longer. 

Myrvhold adds that adding cream also thickens coffee, so it evaporates slower. Slowing down the rate of evaporation helps your coffee cup avoid a lot of that heat loss.

Is Caffeine Sensitivity a Real Thing? 

Caffeine Sensitivity is the threshold for coffee intake. It refers to the amount of caffeine that will affect someone, explains Dr. Mary L. Gavin in a 2022 story that ran on Kids Health (3). 

One’s coffee threshold usually depends on the drinker’s physical size. Usually, the smaller the person, the less caffeine is needed to produce effects, says Gavin. However, regular coffee intake also affects caffeine sensitivity. Over time, coffee addicts become less sensitive to the impact. So, if you regularly down several mugs of brew, you’ll need more caffeine to feel the same hit. 

References

1. Amanda Hawkins and Caroline Picard. “21 Surprising Coffee Facts That Will Perk Up Your Afternoon.” Good Housekeeping, December 4, 2018. | https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/health/diet-nutrition/a30303/facts-about-coffee/
2. Nathan Myhrvold. “The Physics of Coffee & Cream.” Modernist Cuisine. December 12, 2012. | https://modernistcuisine.com/mc/the-physics-of-coffee-cream/#:~:text=Coffee+with+cream+cools+about,a+hot%2C+sunny+day).
3. Dr. Mary L. Gavin. “Caffeine.” Kids Health, May 2022. | https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/child-caffeine.html#:~:text=Caffeine+is+classified+as+a,minimum%2C+especially+in+younger+kids.